Dating back to Roman times, the traditional cento (Latin for “patchwork”) takes lines or phrases from another poet’s (or multiple poets’) work and stitches them together to create a new piece. In recent years, however, contemporary poets have taken to using anything from article titles to lines from journal entries to create their own centos. In this case, I opted to use lines from songs by some of my favorite musicians.
Conversation Between a Lover and a Skeptic Photo by Masoud Mostafaei on Pexels.com There’s a hole in my soul, I can’t fill it
I’m no good at being alone
You know better, babe
It ain’t the bein’ alone
I don’t want your pity, I want somebody near me
Guess what I’m trying to say is I need the deep end—
I want that real full-moon black magic, and it takes two
Now, I’ve thought it through—
Don’t let it in with no intention to keep it
Love’s the death of peace of mind
and the end is unknown
It’s chaos, confusion, and wholly unworthy
Everything’s made to be broken
but it’s love that keeps fueling me.
I’m so full of love I can barely eat
Can I call you mine?
If I held in my hands everything gold could buy
If the heavens ever did speak
If you could love somebody like me—
Tell me all your original sins
Would you show them to me?
Dig them up so nothing’s left untouched
Keep in mind that I’m a sore eye with blurry vision—
I’m not looking for somebody with some superhuman gifts
You call the shots, babe. I just wanna be yours
With words unspoken, a silent devotion
and I know no one will save me
All I ever wanna say is “are you mine?”
Can I call you mine?
You’ll be the first who ever did
Appendix Bastille, “Flaws ”, All this Bad Blood , produced by Dan Smith & Mark Crew, 2013
Teddy Swims, “Lose Control ”, I’ve Tried Everything but Therapy (Part 1) , produced by Julian Bunetta, 2023
Hozier, “It Will Come Back ”, Hozier , produced by Andrew Hozier Byrne & Rob Kirwan, 2013
Hozier, “Unknown/Nth ”, Unreal Unearth , produced by Andrew Hozier Byrne & Sean Cook, 2023
Mitski, “Nobody ”, Be the Cowboy , produced by Patrick Hyland, 2018
Arctic Monkeys, “R U Mine? ”, AM , produced by James Ford, 2013
Teddy Swims, “Lose Control ”, I’ve Tried Everything but Therapy (Part 1) , produced by Julian Bunetta, 2023
Arctic Monkeys, “Do I Wanna Know ”, AM , produced by James Ford & Ross Orton, 2013
Hozier, “It Will Come Back ”, Hozier , produced by Andrew Hozier Byrne & Rob Kirwan 2013
Bad Omens, “The Death of Peace of Mind ”, The Death of Peace of Mind , produced by Noah Sebastian; Joakim Karlsson, 2022
The xx, “Angels”, Coexist , produced by Jamie Smith, 2012
Gang of Youths, “Achilles Come Down”, Go Farther in Lightness, produced by Adrian Breakspear & Gang of Youths, 2017
Goo Goo Dolls, “Iris”, Dizzy Up the Girls , produced by Rob Cavallo & Goo Goo Dolls, 1998
Of Mice & Men, “When You Can’t Sleep at Night”, The Flood, produced by Cameron Webb & Joey Sturgis, 2011
Hozier, “Work Song ”, Hozier , produced by Andrew Hozier Byrne & Rob Kirwan, 2013
Bebe Rexha & The Chainsmokers, “Call You Mine”, World War Joy, produced by The Chainsmokers, 2019
Hozier, “Hymn to Virgil ”, Unreal Unearth , produced by Andrew Hozier Byrne, Jeff “Gitty” Gitelman & Bēkon, 2023
Hozier, “Take Me to Church ”, Hozier , produced by Andrew Hozier Byrne & Rob Kirwan, 2013
Alicia Keys, “In Common”, Here , produced by Illangelo, 2016
Bastille, “Doom Days”, Doom Days, produced by Dan Priddy, Dan Smith & Mark Crew, 2019
Of Mice & Men, “When You Can’t Sleep at Night”, The Flood, produced by Cameron Webb & Joey Sturgis, 2011
Bastille, “Flaws”, All This Bad Blood, produced by Dan Smith & Mark Crew, 2013
Of Mice & Men, “My Understandings”, The Flood, produced by David Bendeth, 2011
Coldplay & The Chainsmokers, “Something Just Like This”, Memories…Do Not Open, produced by The Chainsmokers, 2017
Arctic Monkeys, “I Wanna Be Yours ”, AM , produced by James Ford, 2013
The xx, “Angels”, Coexist , produced by Jamie Smith, 2012
Mitski, “Nobody ”, Be the Cowboy , produced by Patrick Hyland, 2018
Arctic Monkeys, “R U Mine? ”, AM , produced by James Ford, 2013
Bebe Rexha & The Chainsmokers, “Call You Mine”, World War Joy, produced by The Chainsmokers, 2019
Lana Del Rey, “Cinnamon Girl”, Norman Fucking Rockwell!, produced by Lana Del Rey & Jack Antonoff, 2019
Khaila A. Gentle 